Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was ejected after a second-half altercation with the Maryland bench during their quarterfinal matchup of the Big Ten Tournament.
With Michigan up 57-47 and 10:44 to play, an argument appeared to breakout between Howard and the Maryland bench, possibly with Howard upset at Terps head coach Mark Turgeon.
Howard is seen approaching the referees and Maryland bench at midcourt and having to be restrained by some of Michigan’s assistant coaches.
The referees ejected Howard for the incident after issuing two technical fouls. Turgeon was also issued a technical foul.
After the game, Turgeon told the Maryland radio broadcast he was "just sticking up for my program."
"Conversations should never happen, especially negative, between coaches [during the game] and it's been that way," Turgeon said. "I've let the league office know, I've let the referees know, everybody was aware of the situation. And I told them if I was talked to again I was gonna talk back, because there wasn't much done the first two times. So I just stood my ground and said, 'Don't talk to me.' And that was it."
Turgeon then denied a report on social media that he said "don’t hang a banner."
"I don't even think that way," Turgeon said of the report. "I just said 'Don't talk to me.' And then it escalated from there."
"I feel badly it happened, I wish it didn't happen because they're such a heckuva team and he's a great coach," Turgeon added. "Disappointed it happened."
Howard opened his postgame press conference by apologizing to his team for losing his cool and telling his version of the events.
According to Howard, Turgeon said, "Juwan, I’m not going to let you talk to me. Don’t talk to me ever again."
"And he charged at me," Howard told the media. "I was raised by Chicago and when you’re charged, you defend yourself. Especially when a grown man charges at you.”
Longtime St. Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli, who joined the Michigan staff in 2019, took over head coaching duties for the remainder of the game.
The Wolverines would go on to beat the Terps 79-66. They will play the winner of Ohio State vs. Purdue in the semifinals Saturday.
Michigan, the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament and No. 4 in the nation, entered the game at 19-3 and inline for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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